Why do people care what my baby’s eating?
Katie finds herself discussing Soph’s diet way too much — everyone has an opinion.
Photo by monkeybusinessimages/iStockphoto
I had oatmeal for breakfast. Good, old-fashioned oatmeal. I added cinnamon and raisins, and I had a cup of tea with it. That’s probably the most boring sentence I’ve ever written in my life, but there it is. And you don’t care, right? Right. I hardly care, and it was my breakfast. So why is it that people care so much about what Sophie had for breakfast?
Over the past couple of months, since Soph started on solids, I’ve found myself in too many conversations about what my kid is eating. It’s a weird phenomenon, this obsession with what you’re feeding your baby, and I find myself more and more confused all the time. I love introducing Soph to new foods, and, yes, we’ve made some choices on what she can and can’t have, but I just don’t know how it happened that I’m discussing puréed broccoli almost daily. I also don’t know how it happened that I’m always explaining why we’re delaying wheat and dairy and why she doesn’t need juice right now. It’s just our choice. If your little one is all over the cheese cubes and Cheerios, that’s completely up to you and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It’s not an argument, it’s just what works for you and your baby.
Here’s what I do want to know, though, and I figure I can use this forum to my advantage: Veteran mamas out there, how is it that my girl is going to go from eating mushy carrots to a full meal with her family someday? She doesn’t pick things up from her tray yet, so it’s hard for me to see how she’ll one day be able to feed herself. We give her the opportunity to try by putting tiny pieces of food in front of her, but, most of the time, she just pushes stuff on the floor. She’ll feed herself a Mum Mum and she’ll chew on her spoon forever, but she hasn’t figured out the context yet, and I can’t figure out how to show her. Is it something that just kicks in all of a sudden?
I wish I could have these sort of conversations — helpful, productive conversations — about all things baby, instead of conversations of comparison. Soph is happy and healthy, and she likes pretty much everything with the exception of chicken (but honestly, who would like chicken blended to the consistency of pudding?). I just want to know what comes next, and how it’s going to happen, rather than debating the evils of sweet potato. Especially since it’s my kid’s favourite food.
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TinkStJF says ....
My little guys is a couple of months older than Sophie and around 7 months, it became clear that he was interested in what we were eating. The problem was that, if the pieces were small enough so he could handle them without choking, they were too small for him to pick up on his own. If we fed him little pieces of food from our fingers, he did really well. I think that was how we started on things with a bit more texture than purée. But it's true -- these last couple of months, it feels like he has developed really quickly in terms of eating and what he can feed himself. I bet you'll see the same thing with Sophie.
Allison (not verified) says ....
From what I remember of those busy first-year days, once the teeth really started to come in so did the interest in crunchier textures and more developed foods. Soon she'll not be interested in her pureed stuff and likely only want what you're having (or a slight variation of it). Our youngest (now 4) was always a bit of a Gordon Ramsay type regarding food and started demanding it loud and clear around the one year mark - no waiting around for her, she complained if it wasn't prepped and ready for her to devour at the first hunger pang! Have fun - the Mommy discussions continue on for years to come and just change to different topics (preschool choices, school lunches, bike riding, books being read....etc.!) so best to become indifferent to it now and weed out the important information!
Melanie Potock (not verified) says ....
It's because we all connect over food. So, complete strangers will try to chat about what your baby is eating and offer unsolicited advice, because they are trying to connect. It definitely can be a bit annoying! I'm a feeding therapist, so people ask me about kids and food all the time. Come and visit My Munch Bug - we'll answer any questions you have. Thanks for a great post!
mblais says ....
Your little girl is around 7-8 months now right? It's amazing how fast she'll progress at this age, in so many aspects. When my youngest (who is now 2.5 years old) was the same age, she didn't have any teeth yet, so I wasn't even considering giving her cheese cubes, and I don't think I started with the cheerios until she was closer to 9-10 months old. Don't worry, it wont be long before Sophie is trying to feed herself, and then you'll be wishing she would let you help her once in a while...especially with things like yogurt, and apple sauce lol.